An African court in South Africa has decided that Zambia is allowed to bring back the body of the previous President Rupiah Banda. It ends a family disagreement about where he should be buried. The verdict was granted on Friday in the city of Johannesburg after a hearing of the legal arguments among the relatives who disagree with the burial place.
Banda was the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 till 2011 and passed away in South Africa while undergoing medical treatment.
After his death, the family members were split – some wanted him buried in Johannesburg where he was treated, while others were sticking to burial in Zambia as per the national protocol and tradition.
The matter went to court when the Zambian government asked for the delivery of Banda’s body back home for a state funeral. Lawyer representatives of the government said that as a former head of state, his burial in Zambia was of great importance. The court sided with this argument and granted the return of the body.
The authorities in Zambia are making a state funeral in the capital city of Lusaka. Officials from the government have certified that it will be Banda who will be laid to rest at the presidential cemetery, after the required formalities for past presidents have been observed.
The date of the funeral will be made known in the next few days, when the country will be able to pay its last respects to its former leader in the proper way.
